InfrastructureArmy engineers need $1 billion to repair damaged levees
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is urgently requesting $1 billion to repair flood control systems along the Mississippi and Missouri river basins following damage from record floods this spring; the historic flooding forced the corps to blow up portions of the levee to relieve pressure, flooding thousands of acres of farmland to protect cities along the rivers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is urgently requesting $1 billion to repair flood control systems along the Mississippi and Missouri river basins following damage from record floods this spring.
This year’s flood season brought ten times the average amount of rainfall and when mixed with melting snow from record snowpacks the Ohio and Mississippi rivers saw record water levels.
The historic flooding forced the corps to blow up portions of the levee to relieve pressure, flooding thousands of acres of farmland to protect cities along the rivers. As the flood waters begin to recede, the corps is rushing to repair these damaged sections like the Birds Point levee in Missouri.
According to Bob Anderson, a spokesman for the corps, such decisions have stretched the division’s budget to the limit.
“Our greatest challenge this year is making repairs to all the levees that were damaged in the great flood of 2011,” Anderson said.
In the Mississippi basin alone, the corps has identified ninety-three repair projects, of which more than twenty are critical to protecting people and property from floodwaters next year.
Anderson said that with adequate funding, the division would be able to complete repairs before March, the start of next year’s flood season, but “at the current funding levels, it may be difficult to do that.”
The corps estimates that the total cost of repairs for the lower Mississippi will be $1 billion, and the division is currently seeking help from Congress.
The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, recently approved $1.045 billion for disaster relief from flooding on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers as well as from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
Senator Diane Feinstein (D – California), said the money is not enough to cover all of the damage, but “it does cover the damages that the corps can quantify at this time.”
“We will continue to monitor this situation and make adjustments as the bill progresses,” Feinstein said.
Last week the Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army’s assistant secretary of civil works, said it would cost $2 billion to complete all flood repairs and dredge storm sediment from rivers.
The corps is currently scrambling to re-allocate as much money as it can from longer-term projects to help pay for the repairs.
